


Coming of Light

by DreamingIce



Series: Fading Light/Breaking Day [2]
Category: The Inheritance Cycle - Christopher Paolini
Genre: Childbirth, Gen, domestic abuse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-10-23
Updated: 2006-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:02:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,039
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2498915
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DreamingIce/pseuds/DreamingIce
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A companion piece to Coming of Darkness. Selena spends a few moments alone with Eragon in Carvahall, pondering how fate has brought her here, and what is in store for her sons.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Coming of Light

**Author's Note:**

> I had so much fun writing Selena in Coming of Darkness, so I decided to steam ahead with this one, set after Eragon's birth. Time for us to see Selena minus her rose-coloured glasses.

Selena smiled tiredly as her sister-in-law placed the tiny bundle into her arms.

"One beautiful, healthy boy," Marian said softly as the pre-dawn light through the window gave way to true dawn.

"Thankyou," she said softly as she settled her son into the crook of her arm. Looking back up at Marian, she cracked a grin, "You can finally get some sleep now, even if it is dawn."

The other dark-haired woman waved the comment off. "Nonsense. I'm just glad I could be with you. I know I desperately wished for someone my own age when I had Roran."

Selena sighed as she gently rocked her son. "I hope I didn't wake him, or Garrow," she murmured.

Marian rolled her eyes. "Not likely. Roran sleeps like a log these days, and Garrow always has," she snorted.

"True, I remember father trying to make him wake up years ago, and it ended up taking a bucket of water to do that," Selena giggled. "He decided he'd rather get up earlier after that."

"Can you blame me?" Garrow poked his head through the doorway, only to be shooed out by his wife.

"Out!"

"Can't I see my sister and my niece or nephew?"

"Nephew, and not yet!" Marian gently shoved him through the door and shut it.

Selena smiled as looked down at her second son. "That's your Uncle Garrow, sometimes he can be a bit nosy at times," she whispered to him.

"And is a right pain when he is," Marian grumbled good-naturedly as she cleaned up. After finishing that, she quietly left the room, insisting that Selena have some time alone.

Selena, of course, was intensely grateful for this. Did she ever need some time to think, she thought wryly. But first things first, her younger son needed a name. And this time she had thought of one.

"Hello, my little Eragon," she whispered.

An ambitious choice of name, his father would say. But it was a name that was imbued with hope, from Selena's view at least. Brom would've no doubt raised his eyebrow at it, but he wasn't here. Selena sighed. He said that he'd be here...

She cut off her wonderings as to the reasons why he wasn't here yet; that filled her mind with dark thoughts, and she had enough of them as it was. Above all was the fear that Morzan had slain Brom, and that he would come to find her. And he would kill her, and Eragon, and most likely Murtagh as well.

Selena stroked the dark fuzz on Eragon's head as she gazed out the window into one of the glorious sunrises of her childhood. How things had changed since she'd sat in a similar position with Murtagh. Morzan hadn't let her see him much at all, and the few times he had seen his son, all he had done was abuse him. Doing Morzan's work in Terim one time, Selena had, quite literally, stumbled into Brom. Further subsequent meeting saw them become tentative friends.

It also gave Selena an escape from a world she was growing increasingly disillusioned with. Problem was, secrets between friends can't remain secrets forever. Secrets on both sides ended up coming out in an explosive argument, but Brom had ended up holding her long into the night as she expressed all her worries and fears.

Neither one had expected to fall in love with each other. Selena certainly hadn't—she considered herself far too jaded since the rosy tint had faded from her life with Morzan.

But then again,  _wyrda_  has done stranger things.

She had nearly fainted when she discovered the pregnancy. Primary among her feelings was fear. No one would be safe from Morzan's rage should he find out. Sending Brom an urgent message, she had begun planning an escape. Then Morzan flew into a temper for reasons unknown to her. She was in a different wing of the castle at the time; the first she heard of it was one of the servants running into the room, babbling that Murtagh was hurt.

Hurt. Ha. Worst understatement since 'Galbatorix is a madman'. Murtagh was unconscious, the healer desperately trying to close the wound on his back. Shaking, she had asked what happened, and the healer reluctantly admitted that Morzan had thrown his sword at the boy. Selena had nearly lost her son.

By all the Riders that ever lived did she want to break that blade.  _Misery_  was far too fitting a name for it.

She was loathe to leave him behind, but at least Morzan had left for Urû'baen, and she had no choice but to go. She had to see Brom.

Their meeting was rushed, worried. Brom had made her promise to hide away, somewhere safe: Carvahall.

Which was why she had come back home, and had disguised her trail carefully. But she couldn't stay. And she couldn't take her son with her.

Selena stared at the sunrise without looking at it. She wanted to see Eragon grow, but she couldn't. Garrow and Marian would take him... wouldn't they? The situation wasn't exactly one easily explained, she could barely understand it all herself these days. But the thought of Eragon growing up here, in her hometown, alongside his cousin, filled her with hope for his future.

If only she had the same hopes for Murtagh. But no matter how hard she tried to devise a way to get Murtagh away from the monster's den, she just couldn't.

Selena turned her gaze back to the infant in her arms. He was awake now, blinking his solemn hazel eyes at him. Selena had the impression that those eyes were staring right through her.

"Ah, you're not going to be one who misses a thing, are you?" she murmured. "Oh, I wish I could stay with you, Eragon, but I can't..." Selena choked on her words slightly. "I don't expect you to understand it when you find out, but I'm doing it for you," she stroked his face gently, his eyes still fixed firmly on hers. "I love you," she whispered.

As Selena braced herself for the onslaught of her family, the sun finally detached from the horizon to illuminate Carvahall in it's warm light.


End file.
